Venue: Royal Albert Hall 1972
It was a house-full occasion - as usual - when ROD McKUEN appeared In Concert at the Albert Hall last week. He is the complete entertainer. Poetical lyrics, great songs, which tell a story, a jovial intimacy with his fans, and a personality to match his gravel voice combine to make a McKuen presentation the uniquely entertaining event each one unfailingly becomes.
The show opens with the wonderful ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA conducted by Arthur Greeenslade playing a selection of Rod McKuen film music arranged by Gareth Davies. McKuen chose the popular “Hit 'em In the Head with Love" for his first number, a most apt beginning for this was precisely what he did to his audience. For over an hour be sang his songs, which included a brilliant pastiche of “Madam Butterfly" and a handclapping rendering of “Soldiers Who want to be Heroes."
For those more classically inclined, Mr McKuen offered, to begin the second half of his programme, his new composition, Concerto No 3 (Cathedrals of England) with the Philharmonic Orchestra and Leslie Pearson on piano, and later a selection of songs he had written with JACQUES BREL. To the very end the vast audience enjoyed the varied manifestations of the McKuen artistry as demonstrated by his mastery of words and music.